This is why I only use Strava to share with my followers.
Yes, it's an extra step after my workout to edit, add pics if any, choose my activity level if I was too lazy to put on my HR monitor, and then only post to my followers.
Yes, this means I get less likes and can't participate in challenges etc. But it's really about sharing with my colleagues and friends so they can motivate me for my next ride.
I wouldn’t trust their security restrictions. Their API and authentication is primitive. For a while I ran a basic bot to automate data extraction. Their security is 20+ years behind other social networks .
You likely have bot followers and API calls that can read your latest activity GPX data
It's not clear to me whether the location was made using the public, as in shared, information, or information set as private. So did they masquerade as followers, or hacked the system?
This kind of attitude is why we get such bad IoT security.
Everyone deserves privacy - just like with Facebook, a bad actor watching your profile could infer your movements on Strava (or lack thereof) and use that to break into your home or steal your ride.
You claimed that "this" is why you choose a private mode on Strava. But this attack is irrelevant to you. I totally believe you want privacy -- and that's fine -- and Strava provides you a mode that suits your desires.
I'm taking issue with your statement that locating powerful people is somehow a threat model that is relevant to you. It isn't.
> a bad actor watching your profile could infer your movements on Strava (or lack thereof) and use that to break into your home or steal your ride.
Everyone using Strava who thinks this is relevant to their threat model is free to use the hidden address privacy feature, or the myriad other privacy features.
At the end of the day, Strava is an app for sharing your data. You have a lot of options for how much you want to share or limit that sharing. If you don't want to share anything ever, it probably isn't for you.
Yes, it's an extra step after my workout to edit, add pics if any, choose my activity level if I was too lazy to put on my HR monitor, and then only post to my followers.
Yes, this means I get less likes and can't participate in challenges etc. But it's really about sharing with my colleagues and friends so they can motivate me for my next ride.